


Scattered Dreams

by winterune



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterune/pseuds/winterune
Summary: The first thing she heard was laughter—a child's laughter in the distance. A warm breeze caressed her face, bringing with it the scent of grass after a spring shower. Light shone through the back of her eyelids, bringing sensation back to her otherwise cool skin. [A Zerith Reunion fic set post Remake with OG spoilers]
Relationships: Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 13
Kudos: 32





	Scattered Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I always wanted to write a Zerith reunion fic, and Maaya and Suzuken's wedding anniversary (August 8) gave me the perfect excuse for it. It's a week late, but that's ok lol. It's the thought that counts :) Also, shout out to my awesome friend Zap who helped beta this fic! Thanks!
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

_Aerith…_

That was the last thing she heard before an excruciating pain shot up her entire body. A crimson flower blossomed at the center of her belly, dark and searing. A zinging sound reached her ear. Something long and thin and sharp was being pulled out from inside her, cutting through flesh and bone. It came out in a swift movement, jerking her body and tearing a gasp out of her. She heard a scream, or a call, or a sob. Saw, through blurry eyes, the figures in the distance. The distraught faces. The shock.

 _I’m sorry_ , she wanted to say at the first taste of metallic tang in the back of her throat. Tears slowly made their way down her cheeks as her body fell forward into a warmth that felt familiar yet foreign. Arms circled around her, bringing her close. A choke and a sob—his silent tears dripping onto her face.

 _Don’t cry_ , she tried, but her voice had failed her and her eyes had grown dim. She was cold—utterly cold. Her dress was soaked. The screaming intensified, but even that already sounded faraway. If she could still see, and she could still move, she would wipe their tears away and tell them everything would be all right. That she was here and she wasn’t going anywhere...

 _Don’t cry_ , her heart whispered. _You’ll make it rain_.

* * *

She heard laughter—a child's laughter in the distance. A warm breeze caressed her face, bringing with it the scent of grass after a spring shower. Light shone through the back of her eyelids, bringing sensation back to her otherwise cool skin.

“Stop running around!”

A little girl squealed, followed by a giggle. “You can’t catch me!”

“You bet I can!”

The voices pulled at her heartstrings and before she knew it, she was choking back a sob. The laughter paused, and the next thing she heard were footsteps approaching. Aerith peeled open her eyes just as her daughter reached her, draping her arms over Aerith’s knees.

“Mom?” The girl had his face, and his eyes—brilliant blue like the sky. “Mom, are you crying?”

Aerith brushed a stray strand of Ifalna's dark brown hair behind her daughter’s ear. She cupped the girl's cheek, brushing her thumb over the smooth skin. A small smile tugged her lips. 

“I’m all right, dear. Just a little dream.”

“A bad dream?”

She shook her head. “Not entirely bad.”

Aerith looked at her little girl, at the inquisitive gaze she often gave her parents. A little rascal they would say. Curious at every little thing. _She reminds me of you,_ Zack had said once. _Don’t you mean you?_ she’d said back. But now those little blue orbs were drawn and her small lips puckered. Aerith gathered her daughter into her arms.

She was sitting on a wooden rocking chair at the porch. She remembered her daughter running out the door after the rain stopped pouring. Zack had followed her while Aerith sat back, watching Ifalna play in puddles and point at everything that piqued her interest. Now the rain clouds had broken apart and sunlight had come through, creating puddles of light on the glistening grass. Water dripped down from the roof with a _tick-tick-tick_ against the wooden railing or the ground beyond. A small cottage in the middle of nowhere—a meadow, where flowers bloomed at the height of spring and vegetables flourished all year long.

Zack stood a ways away, his jet-black hair swept back from his forehead, a small smile grazing his lips. He knew, like all their friends knew, of the dreams she often had—of a place, similar yet foreign, with the same faces, and the same bonds.

 _It’s you in another life_ , Bugenhagen had once told her. Though Aerith hadn’t quite believed it at first, the more dreams she had the more convinced she was that she _had_ gone through them, again and again in different fashions all throughout her lifetimes. Was it her past? Was it her future? Was it happening right this instant, adjacent to her own time? Aerith would often find herself waking up in cold sweat, gasping for breath, or she would tremble in her sleep until Zack dabbed a cool towel against her forehead. But not all were bad, she thought as she met Zack's eyes in the distance and smiled. Not all ended unhappily.

Ifalna stared at her from her lap, her blue eyes round and wide. Was it her effort to comfort her? Aerith chuckled.

“Want me to tell you a story?”

Her daughter’s eyes sparkled at that. She had always loved stories. Not a day went by without either Aerith or Zack telling her some sort of story. Sometimes they were made-up. Most times they were true.

“What sort of story?” Ifalna asked.

“A story about a group of friends, and how they saved the world.”

It never ceased to surprise her how big her daughter’s eyes could get. Aerith couldn’t contain her laughter. Zack had reached her side. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and a quick kiss to her temple. “I’ll bring some drinks,” he said. She murmured a thank you. He ruffled Ifalna’s hair, prompting their daughter to grin and laugh with glee, before pushing open the door and disappearing behind it. Ifalna’s eyes followed the door swinging shut and then shifted her gaze back to her mother.

“Do you remember Uncle Cloud and Aunt Tifa?” Aerith asked. Ifalna’s nod was full of energy. “Well, they're the main characters in our story.”

“They are?” Her daughter couldn’t hide her excitement.

Aerith smiled into her eyes. “Yes.” 

"Is it a true story, then?"

Aerith pondered on that. Was it a true story? She didn't know. It was a story she had pieced together through countless scattered dreams, disjointed and not making any sense if looked at separately. Sometimes she would dream the same things twice, or thrice, or so many times she would lose count, each time slightly different than before. A different choice. A different scene. Different people and different chains of events. It was as though her mind had been awake, and she was trying her hardest to change the outcome. 

Aerith settled her daughter into a more comfortable position. “I guess," she said. "That depends on how you look at it."

**~ END ~**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Had the idea from Remake's ending, which gave me the impression that alternate realities could exist. Anyway, please leave kudos/comments if you find the fic to your liking! Thanks!


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